


Terran Traditions

by madithewriter



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9715079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madithewriter/pseuds/madithewriter
Summary: "Do you think Vulcans celebrate Valentine's Day?"





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spockstricorder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spockstricorder/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this, Elliot! Happy Valentine's Day! <3

“Do you think Vulcans celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

McCoy hardly even looks up from the PADD in front of him, and the only sign that he even hears Jim is his left eyebrow crawling towards his hairline.

“I mean,” Jim continues awkwardly, “You’ve studied Vulcans, so I thought…”

McCoy switches the PADD off, pushes it away, and directs his full attention to Jim. Who’s now trying to hide the fact that his entire face and neck is flushing pink by dipping his head to stare back down at his book.

McCoy laughs, shaking his head ever so slightly. He thinks the kid’s crush is adorable. “This about Spock?” he asks, as if he doesn’t already know. Jim head snaps up, eyes wide, and his gaze darts from side to side. Thankfully, the library is empty, apart from them and a librarian who acts as though she hasn’t heard a thing. “Calm down, Jim, no one’s listenin’,” McCoy assures him, though he can’t hide the smirk playing on his lips. “I hate to break it to ya, but I studied Vulcan biology, not their love lives.”

“I know that, Bones,” Jim says annoyed. “I just thought that maybe it was one of those weird things you just knew. You’re supposed to be a genius, you know?”

McCoy laughs again, then argues, “You are too, kid.”

Jim shrugs. “Forget I asked.”

“Jim, why don’t you just ask Spock?” McCoy asks, clearly ignoring Jim’s attempt to end the conversation. “Hell,” McCoy continues, his lips turning up in a smirk again, “He may even agree to be your Valentine.”

Jim eyes McCoy, his eyebrows pulled together. He almost pushes away the thought completely, muttering to McCoy about it being “fucking ridiculous”, but it sets in and – is it really that crazy? A broad smile breaks out on Jim’s face, the skin beside his eyes wrinkling with the force of it. “Bones,” he says. “You  _ are  _ a genius!”

McCoy raises a curious eyebrow but shrugs. “Been tryin’ to tell you that for a long time, kid.”

Jim’s not really listening anymore; he’s packing his books into his bag and standing to sling it over his shoulder. As he passes behind McCoy, he claps a hand to his friend’s shoulder and says, “See you later, Bones. Thanks.”

~

Jim stands in front of Spock’s quarters, folding and unfolding the note in his hands nervously.

The idea seemed great when he was talking to McCoy, even when he was writing cheesy pick-up lines and doodling awful little hearts onto a few slips of paper, but now that he’s supposed to leave the note… All Jim can think about is why he shouldn’t.

Spock is his  _ friend _ , nothing more. Jim just has a fucking  _ crush _ . It’s not like they have even hung around each other outside of the Academy. Spock just sits in front of Jim in a couple of classes, sometimes Jim sees him reading in the library or eating lunch and joins him, and occasionally, if Jim is feeling particularly brave that day, he’ll ask Spock back to his quarters for a game of chess. What if this ruins their entire friendship? What if Spock thinks Jim is just some weird kid with a crush? Jim knows that he  _ is _ , but that’s not the point. He wants Spock to like him, even if it’s not as more than just a friend.

A door swishes open down the hall, a student steps into the hall, and Jim’s heart rate quickens. He leans against the wall, trying to act casual, like he’s waiting on someone, and not just contemplating whether his plan for the day was completely insane or not. He watches until the student rounds the corner and is out of sight.

Jim needs to hurry.

What if the next door that opens is Spock’s? He makes a split-second decision, gathering all his courage, and crouching down to slide the note under the door. Jim straightens and walks down the hall, moving as quickly as he can without raising suspicion. 

~

A slip of paper emerges from the crack between Spock’s door and the floor just moments before he can press the keypad and open the door. Spock’s eyebrows raise curiously as he stares down at the paper.

_ Peculiar _ .

He kneels, long limbs graceful, and picks it up, then stands again. It’s folded several times over and wrinkled where someone had obviously worried over it, but Spock carefully unfolds the paper revealing neat handwriting.

There is a small drawing of a Terran dessert, a cupcake, and next to it reads,  _ “Have a  _ sweet _ Valentine’s Day.” _

Valentine’s Day. Spock recalls reading about the Terran holiday, a day where people celebrate their love and affection for one another. How illogical for someone to think that a Vulcan would celebrate this holiday, unless they were aware of his human mother. Furthermore, a day cannot possibly be “sweet” as it has no taste.

The note makes little sense. Spock, however, finds it somewhat… satisfying. That, of course, is illogical as well, but he tucks the note into the pocket of his uniform pants nonetheless and continues out the door.

Whoever left the note is long gone now.

~

“Bones, I did a thing,” Jim says.

He drops his bag onto the table where McCoy is sitting with Uhura in the library. They both look up as Jim sits down across from them. McCoy raises an eyebrow in silent question.

“A thing that maybe I shouldn’t have done,” Jim continues vaguely.

“You do a lot o’ that, Jim,” McCoy replies, “You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

“Bones,” Jim says, sighing exasperatedly because McCoy is just supposed to understand him. “I left a Valentine’s note under…  _ someone’s  _ door.”

Uhura props her elbow on the table and her head on her hand, suddenly seeming interested in the conversation. She asks, “‘Someone’?”

“Spock,” McCoy answers – to Jim’s absolute horror. McCoy waves a hand as Jim’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. “Oh, come on, kid,” he says, “you’re not exactly subtle. She was just askin’ to be polite.”

Jim splutters, and Uhura smirks, shrugging. “It is pretty obvious, Kirk,” she says.

Jim groans, burying his face in his hands, trying to hide his cheeks that he knows are burning red.

“Jim,” McCoy says, “so what’s the problem? I thought you wanted to do the whole Valentine’s Day thing.”

Jim peeks out from behind his hands, keeping them over his cheeks. “I  _ want  _ a lot of things, but you’re supposed to stop me from doing these stupid things, Bones.”

“What’s so ‘stupid’ about it?” Uhura asks.

“What if this ruins everything?” Jim retorts.

“It won’t ruin anything,” Uhura says, rolling her eyes. “It’s actually kind of sweet. I didn’t expect you to be the wooing type, Kirk.”

Kirk drops his hands to the table, raising his eyebrows, and asks, “You think?”

Uhura shrugs. “Yeah – you know, if you’re planning more, you should write one in Vulcan. He’d like that.”

“I don’t know Vulcan,” Jim states.

Uhura sighs, exchanging an exasperated look with McCoy.

“She’s offering to help you, kid,” McCoy interjects.

Jim’s eyebrows pull together in confusion. “How do I know you won’t have me write the wrong thing?” he asks.

Uhura barely holds back her eye-roll this time. “Kirk, do you want help or not?”

~

Spock finds a second slip of paper crumpled up in his shoulder bag. It has been cut to resemble the Terran symbol Spock recognizes as a “heart” – an illogical symbol, of course, that looks nothing like the organ. There is a note written on it again, this time in the intricate curves of the Vulcan language.

It reads, “Du nam-tor vaksurik Spock.”

Literally it translates to “You be beautiful, Spock”, but Spock can infer that the Terran who wrote the note meant “You are beautiful, Spock” and this was the closest translation. 

The note, like the last – is oddly pleasing. 

Spock hardly notices the heat in his cheeks as he looks at the flawed Vulcan script. 

Nyota is the only Terran that Spock is aware of who speaks Vulcan, but he does not recognize her handwriting. Therefore, another Terran – the same one who left the first note judging by the stroke – has taken the time and thought that it would require to learn a Vulcan phrase and proceed to write that phrase. Spock finds this thought gratifying and somewhat… flattering, although that is a human emotion.

Spock realizes that he did not retrieve what he originally meant to and shoves the note into his pocket where the first note still rests. He glances to his sides, his classmates take no notice of anything strange happening, so he reaches back into his bag to retrieve his PADD. 

~

Jim watches closely, sitting in his seat diagonally behind Spock, as Spock unfolds the slip of paper. Jim suddenly feels embarrassed all over again as he recognizes the note, which he had oh-so-carefully cut into the shape of a heart. But then he sees the light green tint to Spock’s cheeks and the tips of his pointed ears and his embarrassment is washed up in something else entirely. 

Spock is  _ blushing _ , and Jim feels fucking  _ giddy _ .

~

It’s been approximately four hours since Spock received the last note, and he’s beginning to lose hope – no, not hope, that is a human flaw. However, it would simply be pleasurable to receive another note, perhaps one that would reveal the writer’s identity. Spock likes mysteries, yes, but he likes solving mysteries more, and this one is particularly… fascinating. 

He concludes that he will not find another note by the time he reaches his quarters this afternoon. He also finds that his conclusion is incorrect.

There is a folded sheet of paper taped to his door, “Spock” written in all caps on the front. 

Spock’s brows raised in curiosity - a completely regular Vulcan emotion. He peels the paper off his door, taking care so he does not tear it, and unfolds it. 

“Meet me? Botanical gardens’ greenhouse at 1900.” 

The message is written in the same handwriting as the others. 

If Spock were to use Terran terms, he would conclude that he has a “secret admirer.” However, keeping your identity from one you hope to form a relationship with is, in many ways, highly illogical. Spock will mention this fact when he meets this “secret admirer” tonight.

~

Jim stands inside the greenhouse, just a few feet from the entrance. His eyes flick from the doorway to the flowers he’s holding in his sweaty hands –  _ god, why are his hands so sweaty? _

He’s trying to talk himself out of it again. He feels stupid – trying to win Spock over with a few silly notes about a holiday he probably doesn’t celebrate, wearing a nice black button up shirt under his leather jacket, another note taped to the door of the greenhouse, and holding these  _ stupid  _ flowers. 

_ Spock is going to laugh.  _

Of course, Jim knows that Spock very rarely shows emotion and he probably will not laugh, but Jim is also starting to panic as he waits and the time seems to pass by so  _ fucking  _ slowly. 

~

Spock finds himself wondering if what he is wearing is sufficient for this meeting. He has never been on what humans refer to as a “date”, but he is certain that this meeting qualifies as one. He wonders if this, what he is thinking and feeling, qualifies as being nervous, or as humans call it, “having butterflies in the stomach”. 

He concludes that both enquiries are irrelevant as he is Vulcan and does not need worry over these so  _ human  _ emotions. 

Spock stands in front of the greenhouse door before he really realizes he has walked through much of the gardens. A note is taped to the door, level with his eyeline.

There is a rather poorly drawn image of two tulips, and it reads, “ _ If I had a garden, I’d put your two lips and my two lips together. _ ”

Spock now wonders if he will ever fully understand the human thought process. He pulls the note from the door and tucks it safely into his pockets where the three other still rest, then he opens the door. 

~

_ The flowers are a stupid idea. _

Jim decides this about the same time the door opens and Spock enters. 

_ It’s too late to get rid of them now.  _

Spock is still wearing his cadet reds, but he looks fucking fantastic (though, Jim may be partial). The tips of his ears are flushed green – he definitely read the note – and Jim gets that feeling again. 

“Jim,” Spock says in a small greeting.

Jim suddenly realizes that he is standing there, his mouth slightly parted in awe, half holding out a bundle of flowers, and overall looking like an  _ idiot _ . He shuts his mouth and fully extends his arm to offer the flowers to Spock.

“These–” Jim clears his throat. “These are for you.”

Spock takes the flowers from Jim carefully. His fingers briefly brush against Jim’s, and Jim can feel the heat rising in his own cheeks. ( _ Jesus _ , he feels like a fucking schoolboy with his first crush.) Spock’s own cheeks flush a light shade of emerald, and Jim’s beginning to think that’s his new favorite color. 

“Um,” Jim continues, feeling a need to fill the silence surrounding them. “I picked Irises because… well, they remind me of you.”

Spock’s eyebrow raises curiously, in that way Jim finds so endearing. 

Jim answers, “Because well they’re lanky and angular and beautiful… like you.”

Spock tries to remain emotionless, but Jim notices the slight widening of his eyes before they fall to look at the flowers again. “Why did you choose the tiger lillies?” he questions.

“Oh, I… I just like them,” Jim says, shrugging sheepishly. 

Spock looks up again, meeting Jim’s gaze. “I must admit. This is all quite flattering, Jim,” he says. “Though, I must say that the messages you left me were rather illogical.”

Jim chuckles and says, “I thought you might say that.” There’s a certain fondness in his voice that only reveals itself when he’s around Spock. “But you liked it?” he asks, hopeful.

Spock purses his lips, obviously contemplating the word ‘like’. He begins slowly, “I found them pleasant, yes, and knowing that you wrote them makes them more… endearing.”

Jim can’t stop the wide smile tugging at his lips. If he isn’t mistaking, Spock – in a round-about Vulcan way – just admitted that he had feelings for Jim as well. Jim reaches out, taking the flowers from Spock, their fingers brushing again. But Spock doesn’t let Jim pull away this time, keeping their index and middle fingers pressed together. Jim freezes, eyes shooting up to meet Spock’s, which are staring intently back at him. Jim realizes – this is a _ Vulcan kiss.  _

The flowers fall to the ground between them, not making a sound, and Jim’s surges forward for a human kiss. 


End file.
